Alice in Wonderland (IMAX 3D)

In Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton delivers a visually dazzling take on the classic tale by Lewis Carrol. Working with Johnny Depp, the seventh time is the charm for Burton in delivering a stunning cinematic film that will appeal to moviegoers no matter what a persons movie tastes may be. The cinematography throughout the movie allowed Burton to bring Underland to life through the use of vibrant colors and Burton's vision to contrast the vibrant colors. The vibrant colors, in the IMAX 3D experience, brought the movie off the screen in a way that was like you were actually there, in Underland, and not sitting in soldout showing of a movie! The visual effects in this movie are stunning. It is amazing that even with the amount of CGI that had to be used to develop a movie that delves this deep into a fantasy world, one does not get the feeling that the actors are standing in front of a green screen, but that of smooth transitions between what is real life and CGI.

The costumes are dazzling in their attention to detail. From the intricacies of the Red Queen's attire and the attire of her court to the simplicity that is Alice's dresses. The photography is spot on whether it is the tight camera shots to show off all the detail in the costuming or that of the wide landscape moving shots showing off the beauty that is Underland.

Johnny Depp continues his tradition of playing a unique, yet odd character, Depp gives a outstanding performance as the Mad Hatter! Depp not only successfully transformed into the role, but he was able to give depth to a character that is very complex. Depp's portrayal transforms the Mad Hatter to a character that could be the real life personification of what someone reading Lewis Carrol's books would picture the him to be.

While there are many great performances from Crispin Glover, Helena Bonham Carter, relative newcomer Aussie Mia Wasikowska and the voice compliments of Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar. Anne Hathaway gives a very awkward performance as the White Queen. Her character comes across as trying too hard to be an ethereal flowing queen; I was bothered and distracted by the attempts of her hand movements to show how regal and flowing of a Queen she was.

Going into Alice in Wonderland, knowing Tim Burton seems to have a flair for giving his adaptations a dark twist, I was expecting a similar dark adaptation. It was a pleasant surprise that Burton showed a lot of restraint in not overdoing the darkness, and instead allowed the vibrant colors to help tell the story. While it was not as dark as expected it still had its moments that may scare any kids under 10. One such moment is that of the moat around the Red Queens castle that contains a lot of the "left over" from the Red Queens favorite phrase "Off with their heads!"

After seeing the movie while the story was not overly strong I give this movie three buckets of popcorn for the strong cinematography, vibrant colors and the splendid performance by Depp. It was well worth the cost of the ticket for the IMAX 3D experience.

-The Movie Man-